Unexpected Disruptions: Expert Guesses Russia May Have Tested Telegram Blocking Tonight | Business

According to The Moscow Times, the reason for this could be an attempt by the Russian authorities to block Telegram services, said Mikhail Klimarev, director of the Internet Security Society and author of the Telegram channel ZaTelekom.

In his opinion, this may be indicated by the fact that the performance problems were recorded only in Russia. The Downdetector service, which collects information about the work of Internet resources in various countries, last night did not record any data on Telegram malfunctions in other countries.

In early August, Russia’s media regulatory agency Roskomnadzor announced it was blocking a similar app, Signal, “for violating the law.” The agency noted that it was used for “terrorist and extremist purposes.”

In late July, Russian authorities began slowing down YouTube in Russia, citing a “deterioration” of Google’s equipment in the country, which the US corporation had not updated since the start of the war in Ukraine.

According to the Meduza portal, Russian authorities have warned major telecommunications operators about the intention to slow down the playback speed of YouTube videos to 128 kilobits per second, according to The Moscow Times.